Three in four hospitals in England failing to hit two vital cancer targets

Three in four NHS hospital trusts in England are failing cancer patients, according to the first league tables of their kind, prompting experts to declare a "national emergency".

- Andrew Gregory

Last week ministers published the first league tables to rank NHS hospitals in England from best to worst since the early 2000s.

The overall rankings score NHS trusts based on a range of measures including finances and patient safety, as well as how they are bringing down waiting times for operations and in A&E, and improving ambulance response times.

A Guardian analysis of the underlying data has found that more than seven in 10 trusts are failing to hit either of two cancer targets.

Ninety out of 118 trusts (76%) are missing the target of ruling cancer in or out within 28 days of urgent referrals in at least 80% of cases.

The analysis also reveals that 86 of the 118 trusts (73%) are failing to hit the second cancer target measured in the tables: starting treatment within 62 days for 75% of patients.

Delaying cancer diagnosis or treatment can lead to worse outcomes for patients, fewer options for tackling the disease, and earlier death.